Guerrilla M19’s commander Carlos Pizarro demobilized and was killed a few years after

Colombia will negotiate peace with its biggest guerrilla group FARC, and perhaps with the smaller ELN as well. It’s the most important news in years and it’s quite a big change compared to ex-president Álvaro Uribe’s policy of continuous attacking the guerrilla and trying to beat it the armed way. Many Colombians are glad because what they most want is peace, but others think it’s very inconvenient to negotiate with armed groups that are considered terrorists. The governments most fierce opponent is in fact ex-president Uribe. (more…)

These days Colombia’s new president Juan Manuel Santos is going to sign the so called accord of National Unity with a great part of the politicians who were his opponents during the elections: the Conservatives, Cambio Radical, the Liberals and his own party, La U. The idea is that the polarisation that flourished during the Uribe era has to come to an end. That is necessary indeed, but it shouldn’t be a secret way to silence the opposition. (more…)